- I got to meet Phil Dalhausser in the security line of Dulles Airport. I hope they let him fly first class. He's one tall dude and he won a gold medal for pete's sake.
- Despite going to Denmark I never got my passport stamped there. It was stamped where I entered and exited the EU (Brussels and Amsterdam respectively).
One of the things I like best about traveling is seeing new places. I don't get GPS in rental cars, as I prefer to find my own way. Usually between my phone and signs I get to where I want to go. As I got on the highway from the airport in Copenhagen, I read the signs quickly and made a snap decision on which way to head. My decision took me to Sweden.
You see, the Copenhagen airport is the last exit one can take in Denmark before you cross the Øresund bridge and head to the city of Malmö in Sweden. Once I was on the highway I was committed. I couldn't turn around until I got to the Swedish side of the bridge. I had to pay the toll (about $65) and explain to the gentleman at the toll booth that I didn't really mean to come to Sweden. Apparently I wasn't the first one to do this so he explained where I needed to go to get turned around and how to get my money refunded. For being descendants of vikings they are really a polite and understanding bunch of folks up there.
One of the highlights of the trip was a quick stroll through the Copenhagen Citadel. The Danish National Memorial of Remembrance is there. It's got the names of Danish service members who lost their lives in international conflicts. There were over 100 names. That may not seem like a lot, but of those, 56 had perished since 2001 in Afghanistan and Iraq. For a country with a relatively small military, that strikes me as a significant sacrifice. While it is important to remember those our great nation has lost, it's also important to remember we're not in this alone. I take great comfort in that.
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